Hey! Let's Make A Show Out Of That!

Ah Summertime! That time of year when young love and summer love crop up in songs of every genre, floating like downy feathers across radio waves. A time of year when we discover that our Capri's and tanks from last summer are slightly snugger than last year! :) And it's a time...when horrid, poorly-rated and laughable television shows clog vacant space on every TV network like rotten installation failing to stop the chilling wind from permeating a house's walls.

I recently talked about these summer reality, game and contestant shows to several like minded individuals on Pandora Radio. All of them agreed on me that in the last year or so many new television shows - series and non-series - have cropped up on almost every TV network, only to collapse and fail within that same year like a crushed pop-up book. Why? I'll admit, whenever a new show comes on I'm instantly negative about it, frustrated that people keep trying to create these shows that obviously won't work out. For instance My Own Worst Enemy and Life On Mars. Granted I only watch shows on The CW with the exception of ABC's show Lost, I somehow had a gut feeling these shows wouldn't last. Perhaps it's because their entering a realm of seasoned shows that have established a plush cushion of fans and undeniable support and therefore inadvertently subject themselves to criticism and have to perform twice as good as the shows before them in order to earn their spot. Wow, I think I am delving too deep into it! :) But hopefully I have conveyed some sort of message by saying that. The writer is coming out in me. Like you can't tell already right? :)

But back to the trivial, pointless summer shows. Just a few hours ago while perusing the very much loved magazine This Old House I decided to watch America's Got Talent. As many of you probably already know the shows name should more realistically be America's Got Considerably Horrid Talent But Perhaps Some After all Talent. That's my cynical side coming out, but I think I can safely say that show rests somewhere on the rungs of the latter a few steps below American Idol. During the show I saw everything from energetic child dancers, people of varying ages playing musical instruments, magic acts and some very questionable and honestly repulsive acts as well. But I truly believe the two latter things I mentioned are thrown into the mix just to peak people's interest. Because, frankly, American Idol does the same thing in order to keep it interesting.

If that show isn't proof enough that I should write this blog post, while I was watching AGT an advertisement for yet another reality show came on. This time it was called The Great American Road Trip and it consists of families piling into ugly, outdated RV's and trucking it across America to supposedly make it to some designated destination while bonding as a family. I'm sorry but...during the five hours between Sheboygan my relatives in the U.P I am inevitably ready to spend at least an hour away from my family. You simply can't survive that long in the same vehicle. Unless of course your family happens to be the Brady Bunch. But seriously, was that show anywhere close to a stone's throw from reality? I don't think so! :).

So why would NBC make a show like this? Haven't they learned anything from the perilous and quite frankly embarrassing scandals and sagas of Jon & Kate Plus 8 to know that placing families on a reality TV series in close proximity to one another for hours on end while shooting it all live...is probably the worst idea since shows like that started coming out. If there's someone out there who's not as invariably judgmental and cynical towards shows like this I would love your feedback. I just cannot see them succeeding in any way. In my humble opinion they are simply fillers and flimsy toys for TV networks to play around with until the real shows come back on, and therefore automatically trivial in my book.

Perhaps my point of view on such shows is also biased because I'm not a fan of contestant or reality shows. My favorite shows happen to be: Supernatural, Smallville and Lost. Perhaps now my bias is more understood. But even if it isn't, I don't think I'll ever come around to believing that today's shows being created by everyone in their brother it seems like...will ever go anywhere. I think of each show as a shiny, new car atop a narrow, straight road. At first it's confident, cruising along at great speed. Then it hits the first speed up, perhaps a drop in ratings, then it hits another one, perhaps poor reviews from critics, then finally the car breaks down and the show comes to an end. And my favorite TV network - The CW - is just as guilty of churning out the new shows as any other. Melrose Place, The Beautiful Life and the one I have been dreading since writing my blog post "Something You Can Really Sink Your Teeth Into"...The Vampire Diaries. I'll admit, Supernatural has invariably become my favorite show because I have a strong interest in the paranormal and haunted houses but...I have my doubts about The Vampire Diaries. Hell, just go back to my afore mentioned blog post and you'll understand my bias against all things vampire.

But before I get of track, as I have an inadvertent way of causing all by myself :), let me close off this blog post by saying: I don't understand all of the new shows that are coming on TV these days. Whether that show be contestant, reality, drama, comedy, sitcom or anything in between...it seems that they don't make 'em like they used to. The shows I watch are deeply embedded in completely different worlds and so intricately entangled with smaller subplots, persona lites and inimitable, complex characters I feel like each time I watch I'm immersed in that world, their world. That is what I love about a show! :) When it's characters feel like family, like they're an old, familiar friend you see each week, eager to see their life unfold into something different, living each experience alongside them. Granted that a lot of TV shows that have sprung up and wilted away did have some of those qualities, something went awry along the way. Perhaps it's a lack of creativity, or the fact that so many people - like me - are attached to their favorite shows and don't want to make room for another.

Whatever may be the reason, I will try to give these new shows a try. Albeit I am quite perplexed and frustrated with The CW's inexplicable fixation with creating shows that revolve around the filthy rich. Now their shifting to vampires. It begs the question of...what's next?
With television, that question can't easily and readily be answered. All a person can do is sit and wait. But don't just sit on the couch and watch the tube people! :) Enjoy the summer weather! And tune into those summer songs on your radio. I've heard of 'em are pretty good!

Here Comes The Sun! Oh Wait...

I don't know what exactly it is with using song titles as titles of my blog posts, but folks, it seems like I have done it again! This time taking inspiration from a Beatles song I first heard on American Idol a few seasons back. Yes, I admit, I do watch that show. But I am becoming less and less convinced of it's authenticity and reputability every day. Anyway, that's not the point of this post.

Was is the point of it then? My focus will be: the eccentric, unpredictable and haphazardly varied Wisconsin weather my hometown of Sheboygan - and other places I'm sure - have been burdened under since the beginning of June. I'm sure all of you reading my blog post right now can relate in one way or another. Like Kenny Chesney said..."I think I speak for the crowd". :)

Now perhaps if you don't live in Sheboygan, every weather forecast you've heard hasn't been overshadowed with the phrase cooler near the lake. It's a phrase that is synonymous with Sheboygan weather, and I can't stand it. Every week I watch the weather in order to plan ahead and know what to wear. And every week it's the same thing, I see temperatures climb into the mid to high seventies and I begin to think that summer actually is only a few days away, but then like a shower of needles my hopes are deflated and the ominous words cooler near the lake pop up on the screen, promising warm temperatures but a ever present cool wind that no Sheboyganite can shake like your shadow in broad daylight.

I've lived in Sheboygan my whole life and have learned to live with this little issue. And yes, for all it's coldness and warmth-depleting characteristics I enjoy wading and swimming in Lake Michigan. Albeit I would take a heated pool any day. :). I may be a native Wisconsinite but I simply wasn't built for the cold days. I don't think I'll ever get used to it no matter if I stay in this state the rest of my life or not. My best friend on the other hand has developed a hardy tolerance against the cold and I envy her. In Wisconsin, you either accept the cold and take it stride...or you complain about it every day and bundle up even with summer only steps away.

So why, you might be asking yourself, did I choose the title for this particular blog post? How does it fit in? What do The Beatles have to do with Wisconsin weather. Well, as it turns out, they have nothing to do with it! And neither does the song Here Comes The Sun. It's simply the song's title that I used a sort of a metaphor to translate my frustrations with Sheboygan's weather recently.

For instance, do you recall last week Friday? That day when fall and winter released their grip and summer-like weather swept upon Sheboygan, snuffed out lakeside winds and inched temperatures up to (gasp!) 77? Let me tell you folks, with the way weather is going now I am tempted to mark that date down on my calendar. I sat outside my laptop before dinner and wrote a little in my stories, a nice change from the small desk in my bedroom I usually type in. I also went for a bike ride if I recall clearly. I even went down to the shoreline at King's Beach and waded in for a while, snapping pictures and taking videos with my phone. During the gloriously warm weather yesterday I had wanted to do the same thing, but time had got away on me so I settled for a casual walk around Sheboygan. Then there was yesterday morning, where I had my Mom fish out some of her knee socks - because all of mine have holes thanks to perpetually cold weather :) - so I wouldn't freeze from the Arctic air conditioning in the room of a class I am taking at Great Lakes Training. Low and behold when I came outside to come home I was met with a curling wave of heat that washed over me like a pile of musty wool coats flung from a closet. My Mom and I went over to Randal's and got cones. The ice cream was dripping within a few seconds after I got it.

So what is the point of all these ramblings? That during the long stretch between when spring turns its back on winter and jumps headlong into summer, Sheboygan's weather is as unpredictable as a rusty old car humming down the highway. One day it's running fine, the next day it's puttering and backfiring, keeping you guessing as to what it's going to do next.

Not only that, but I never know how to dress anymore. Which goes against my personality in the most irritating way. I'm the type of person who likes to be prepared for the day once I wake up. A big part of that is knowing what to wear. If the weather shifts every five minutes, or drastically changes for day to day I'm forced to compensate. Which is why the jeans drawer in my dresser is packed with both my jeans and Capri's and all of my sweaters are still vying for space amongst my t-shirts and tank tops. I'm convinced that in Sheboygan, you literally need a walk-in closest because there's no way in hell you'll be able to store away your winter clothes. Believe, you'll need them. Whether you live in Sheboygan or not.

I'm sure every state has this problem, whether it's as varied and haphazard as Sheboygan's is another question. All I know is that one day I'll wake up singing..."here comes the sun!" and the next day I'm saying..."oh wait!" Or perhaps I'll be saying both of those phrases in the same day as the wind decides to shift and fold a cold front over Sheboygan like layered ice packs. I can't stand the shifting winds. It's as if someones playing chess and every move that's made causes another weather system to blow through Sheboygan. :)

In closing, all I can say is I hope tomorrow can be greeted with the phrase..."here comes the sun" and leave it at that.

Where The Green Grass Grows

For those of you who know any Tim McGraw songs you'll know that I took one of his for the title of my blog post. 'Where The Green Grass Grows' is a song he recorded in '97 about how as a young boy he moved away from his small town into the city where he thought life would be better. A wider, broader world to explore inside of the constricting limits of a small rural town.

But as he describes it: "well I'm from a map dot, a stop sign on a black top. I took the first bus I could hop from there. But all of this glitter is getting dark, there's concrete growing in the city park. I don't know who my neighbors are, and there's bars on the corners, and bars on my heart."

There are literally hundreds of country songs out there that emulate this exact message. How they ditched their native small towns first chance they got and found out that the city's awashed in glitter and opportunity weren't so glamorous. Take Kenny Chesney's song ' In A Small Town' for example. In this particular song he describes small town life and how, like McGraw's song, he found that life constricting and oppressive. There are lyrics that stand out "Sometimes it was Heaven, sometimes Hell, kind've like church, kind've like jail, there's a water tower that says welcome to nowhere. Soon as I could I was long gone, my jeans were torn and my hair was long. But I can't believe I wanna go back there. To a small town."

Both of these songs speak about two young guys wanting to branch out - or break out - from their small town upbringings and finding that they can't do in their small towns But in the same breath, once they did reach the city they found themselves looking back. Like the last lyric in Chesney's song suggests "I can't believe, I want to go back there. To a small town."

Why is the pull of small towns so palpable in country music? It goes back to one of those 'root subjects' in the genre that has helped mold and shape it into something of a value that each singer holds. There are so many country songs that speak about the beauty, lifestyle and inimitable atmosphere that small towns have.

Perhaps because I love country music so much and love the country so dearly, I too fell victim to the allure of small towns. I have always wanted to live in one. I admire the closeness of neighbors, the amiable and personable people who live there and the quaint atmosphere. How, do you ask, if I have lived in the city my entire life, could I be so sure about wanting to live in the country. My answer? I am so sure of this because I know how I feel whenever I'm in the country. Whether it be a narrow, winding road leading past farms and pastures or helping out at a local horse rescue farm in Reedsville. Just as the country songs I mentioned above spoke about small towns being restrictive, I believe the opposite is true for me. I find city life to be restrictive. There is always a labyrinth of tumultuous noise layered in the background like a dozen tapes playing in a tape deck at once. Granted I live in a fairly quiet neighborhood and know a good deal of my neighbors, there's always one noise or another to steal away the silence I love so dearly in the country. Whenever I visit the horse rescue farm in Reedsville - Sunrise Horse Farm - I immediately stop and listen to the silence. Sometimes hearing nothing but birds chirruping blithely, horses grazing peacefully and the wind rustling through leaves of trees is the most beautiful sound in the world. At least to me.

Perhaps a writer, I cherish the countryside and its beautiful, serene silence so much because it helps inspiration come more easily and allows the words to tumble onto the pages free from distraction. Last Friday when temperatures were actually where they were supposed to be I took my laptop outside and worked on one of my stories on the patio attached to our garage. I'll admit, it was a nice change to type outside, but again...there was simply too much background noise to truly concentrate. I have always been inspired by the countryside and what it has to offer. It's undulating hills layered in thickly bedded fields like a dense patchwork quilt. Quiet farms scattered across the flattened ground like children's toys tumbling from chubby fingers and staying wherever they landed. Whenever I'm at the rescue farm I always hear peculiar bird songs that I wouldn't have heard otherwise had it been for the palpable silence. Granted I can hear many birds perfectly fine at my house in Sheboygan, it's not the same.

Speaking of the horse rescue farm, the lady who runs it, Mary Ellen Kiel, was talking to me about living in the city briefly herself when I mentioned to her my love for the countryside. She told me that for nine months she lived in New Holstein and hated it. She ended up moving back out into the countryside, where she knew she belonged.

That is how I've always felt, even though, as I mentioned before, I've never lived anywhere close to the countryside. Perhaps this ties into my last English paper about storm chasers where I said 'perhaps because of the absence of severe weather and tornadoes in Sheboygan it has helped fuel my passion for both.' The same philosophy may work into my love for the countryside. Because of the absence of it in my life - mostly, anyway - I have inadvertently developed a passion for it.

In many of my short stories, well all of them basically! :). The storyline and characters live in a small town. Somehow I have always felt most comfortable placing them there, as well as felt comfortable writing about it as well. As I mentioned before, I find the countryside very inspirational and contributing to my writing. Somehow I hope I can - in one form or another - live the life of the many characters I spin to life on the pages and find myself living in a quaint small town somewhere. I have always been the type of person who likes things small so to speak. A small neighborhood, a small church. A place where you can get to know every single person. A place where there's a single popular restaurant that everyone gathers for lunch and fills everyone in on small town gossip. Some of my stories revolve around a world like this and I'm more comfortable emulating small town life in them than any other story plot.

As you've probably noticed by now there are numerous contributing factors that fuel my passion and love for small town life and the countryside in general. Including magazines like Country Living and Country. Both of which I love. But regardless of what lies behind my passion, someday I hope to live...where the green grass grows.

Something You Can Really Sink Your Teeth Into

Visit any major bookstore in Sheboygan - or any place that sells books really - as well as any video store, clothing store or convenience store like Wal-Mart and you'll begin to see one particular trend taking over, subtly but yet noticeably enough so people flock to it. What's the trend? Vampire books.

They are everywhere! Not only are the ever-popular books crowding the young-adult fiction section in Walden - where I'd normally go for my book fix - but there's also t-shirts, soundtracks and everything in between. Let me tell you all right now, I myself have not the slightest inkling of interest in such things. On the contrary my best friend, Brittney, loves the books and all things vampires. Albeit I do have an interest in the supernatural and paranormal - which means I like to both read about the two subjects and write about them as well - I draw a thick chalk line at vampires.

So why have I resisted the paranormal phenomenon when others are clamoring over each other and renting the movie? Not only is it because of my disinterest but also because I realize what vampires truly are...and what the media has inadvertently manipulated them into being.

Sorry Krista and Eileen! I am feeding off of the conversations you too had about Krista's paper on vampires. Hope you don't mind. :). But even so, I don't need snippets of conversation to realize how romanticized vampires have become. Just take the movie Twilight for example. It's lead female character falls in love with a vampire and shows blatant signs of wanting to become one. Why? Is it the promise of eternal love? Is it that's she irrevocably attached to him and can't extract herself from the relationship? Is his hold on her that strong? The questions don't end there.

How did vampires become such a romanticized and yearned for figure in America today? Obviously the main culprit is the media. Just look what it's done to well-intentioned stars like Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift. Both are practically worshiped and followed by throngs of 'tween' girls picking up their every word. It's scary if you ask me. How two singular people can rise to fame so quickly, swallowed up by America's youth like quicksand pulling you to a different dimension. And the sad thing is, when you boil down to the grime in the bottom of the pot, neither Miley Cyrus nor Taylor Swift are very exceptional at singing. It's simply their mass-media appeal and overrated demeanor that's preceded them and whetted a false appetite for their glory. But this blog post isn't about the horrors of Disney singers, it's about vampires. Back on topic! :)

A couple of weeks ago my Mom and I were flipping through the channels and stumbled upon one of those annoyingly chipper morning shows. Usually I don't watch but a particular show was interviewing a mother-daughter writing team that just started a vampire series called House Of Night. Predictably the series involved deep romantic underpinnings. The mother explained that the series' main character was modeled after her daughter, so she could relate to her. Is this perhaps another tactic by writers of such books? A way to make vampires relatable to fans? A way to find common ground?

While scouring iTunes for songs to download onto my iPod I stumbled upon an advertisement for the HBO series True Blood. I'll admit the picture of a woman licking her lips layered in thick, crimson blood was enough to suggest what I already suspected. Yep, vampires again. The show was about vampires and humans openly co-existing in a community. This again refers back to the above paragraph about writer's efforts to relate vampires to humans, to find that common thread that obviously was woven together only by the media itself.

With all of this said, I'll no doubt continue to read about, listen to, stumble upon and run into many a vampire book and other memorabilia. But the thing that frustrates me the most is the overtaking of the young adult fiction section in my favorite bookstore, Walden. At the beginning of last year the Twilight series and The House Of Night series have been swallowing up other genres of books, leaving me little to pick through whenever I pay a visit. Like I've said before, I in no way am a fan of vampire books and therefore ask why I must be forced to compensate for those that are by having my favorite authors snuffed out. I am now turning to the mystery section where some of my other favorite authors are still holding their own against this onslaught. I hope they will continue to.

Whether you are a fan of vampire books or not, I would, as always, enjoy feedback. I hope what I said was neither judgemental, vehement or hastily written but a viable, well thought out argument against what frustrates me about today's bookstores and the media in general.